Wasn't this thrilling?

The shriek resounded into her bones like a challenge personally issued. Skadi did not mind the cold, more than a little accustomed to it as she strode forward through the snow. "Yes." She said simply, glancing over towards Anya as she shook so hard it affected her words. Perhaps she should craft her guild member armor that was ... warmer. Sometime soon, at least, if she had the time to spare. As things were now, there was little to do but bear through the strain it so clearly inflicted on Anya.

"If you like, I could see if I can slide us all the way there." She offered, lips curving into a smile. It perhaps wasn't the safest route, but it would be fast. The sooner this was over, the sooner Anya could curl up by a fireplace somewhere. It was worth consideration, but until she got a yes or no, she continued walking. "Otherwise, we could both ride on our mounts - or just my kitsune, if you think ... Sasha might have trouble." It took her a moment to remember the name, but she knew that it seemed important to Anya.

One way or another, she had every intention of wasting no time in getting there.

1/5

Skadi's companion agreed to ride with her, and Skadi nodded. Holding close while she sped up through the frost slide wasn't for everyone, especially when the risk of a sudden stop was practically guaranteed. Without much hesitation, she summoned the kitsune, staring coldly at the creature as it raised its head and swivelled its ears around. Glancing back towards Anya, she paused at her question. She was aware of Sasha's being named, and the woman's fondness of the pet. No, the mount.

That was, in itself, the problem.

She chose to reply honestly, "Because I don't want to get attached." Hoisting herself up to mount the creature, she raised a hand to help Seneca up, should she choose. "It isn't real. I don't want to risk getting sucked in enough to avoid making it take a blow or avoid hurting it if the time comes." She hoped it wasn't a fact that Seneca would object to. If the woman accepted her invitation to mount the frost kitsune with her, she'd kick it into action up the mountain regardless of Anya's reaction.

2/5

Skadi listened when Anya spoke, giving the woman's words their due consideration. After all, she respected the woman; otherwise, she wouldn't so actively ask for her company on challenging missions. Isn't it tiring? Something about the woman's words rang a distant memory, but only to the edges of her thoughts, like pulling on a frayed string. "Perhaps." She admitted, voice quiet. When Anya mounted the kitsune, she waited only a moment or so for her to get her bearings. When they rushed forward and Saskia found arms wrapped around her, she was grateful Anya could not see her face flush.

"It wasn't stupid." She finally said, uncertain if her voice would have been lost in the howling wind as the kitsune bounded forward up towards the mountain, faster than either of them would have been on foot. On Saskia's orders, the beast halted in front of the cave's mouth, and the woman grinned as the ominous, chilling air seemed to take hold at the entrance. She did not ask if Anya was ready, only digging her heels in to usher the giant fox into a brisk trot inside. She did not fear for one moment whatever mysterious monster awaited them inside. No, the strange, foreign noises just made her pulse quicken.

She was destined to be disappointed.

The noises that carried so much threat always seemed to be just around the corner, and yet ... nothing. Every time, until the kitsune nearly stumbled into a great nest with various eggs. She frowned at them, before turning around in a circle to get a good view of both the room and the passageway behind them, just in case something was flanking them. Nothing. "Perhaps we should crush the eggs if the creature is such a threat." She offered. "And then wait here, to finish it off once and for all."

3/5
seneca

Skadi tilted her head as Anya dismounted, stifling the feeling of disappointment as pale arm slipped away from where they had been. She ran a hair through strands of hair that had been blown from over her shoulder by the wind, flicking it back over her shoulder before nodding to Anya's idea. "You're right. If anything would draw out the monster, it would be that." Cold blue eyes flicked from the assortment of differently sized eggs, uncertain what it meant. Any animal she had come across had been a mammal.

It would not matter soon, she decided.

Skadi did not bother to dismount at first, ordering the kitsune to lunge and rip into the egg with its teeth. The object burst into pixels, and she frowned - the fox's head was in the way, and she could not see what had been inside. With a small sigh, she finally relented in dismounting from the fox, running a hand through the silk soft fur before equipping her enforcer. Her next victim was random, a swift slice delivered with the edge of the bladed shield to open up the top of the egg. This one, too, immediately shattered into pixels and Skadi growled as she took a step back, her curiosity unsated.

4/5
seneca